GoPro rival? Panasonic launches wearable HX-A500 4K action camera

Panasonic has announced the HX-A500, a wearable video camera with ultra HD 4K at 30p capability. Along with Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity options, the HX-A500 can also shoot 1080p at 60fps, 720p at 120fps and 480p at 240fps. Panasonic's action camera is also dustproof and waterproof for up to 30 minutes down to 10 feet (3 meters). The HX-A500 has a separate body unit that has a 1.5-inch color LCD display and camera unit that is connected by a cable. In the U.S it will be available from July. In the U.K. it will be available from May for £379.99.

NEWARK, NJ (March 24, 2014) - Panasonic Corporation, a leader in video technology is pleased to announce the world’s first 4K/30p Wearable Camera, the HX-A500 (A500). Featuring Wi-Fi® and NFC to connect to your phone, incredible image quality and straightforward functionality, this wearable camera enables you to capture scenes that puts viewers right there, in the thick of the action. The A500 will be available in the U.S. at the beginning of July at www.shop.panasonic.comand photo specialty retailers.

The main unit is separate from the lens unit, meaning you can mount the lens at face level and perform hands-free shooting. Small and lightweight, the lens unit is comfortable to wear, making it easy to capture point of view sports or your daily adventure.

The A500 features gorgeous 4 K/30p image quality, allowing you to capture beautiful video with heightened realism. With a powerful lens, sensor and engine, you can now enjoy clean and clear low-noise video. The A500 comes standard with the newly designed main unit with an LCD and other features that improve operability. Via your smartphone or tablet, you can also quickly and easily upload your video to the internet. Panasonic designed the A500 wearable camera so that users can simply shoot and enjoy sharing, high-quality action video.

1. Separate units enable more comfortable head mounting

The main unit is separate from the camera. Hands-free operation lets you to capture everyday adventures to extreme sports.

● Compact lightweight camera unit

The lens unit weighs just over one ounce. It’s so light that you are likely to forget it’s mounted, even after extended use.

● New head mount and armband case

The head mount is supported in three places: at both ears and at the back of the head. This increases support and makes wearing the camera feel more comfortable and natural. The armband-style case is durable, and the flip-top design makes it easier to put in and take out the main unit.

● Even more complete line up of accessories

A wide variety of optional accessories — a new clip mount, multi belt, and multi case — help you get the most out of the A500. Different mounts enable easy shooting in different situations allowing you more flexibility.

● Waterproof and dustproof

Waterproof for 30 minutes in nearly 10 feet of water*, dustproof **, the A500 lets you actively shoot video in all kinds of sports and leisure situations without a housing.

With 4K video, you get four times the resolution of Full HD. The new Lens, sensor and image engine also achieve greater sensitivity, enabling you to shoot beautiful high resolution video.

● Recording 4K at 30 fps ensures smooth motion

Since every detail of the image is crisp and clear, you can display beautifully realistic video on large screens. Meanwhile, with a worlds’ first 30 frame per-secondfor a wearable camera, on-screen motion is smooth.

3. Enhanced Picture Quality

● Ultra Wide Angle

HX-A500 can shoot up to max. 160 degree ultra wide angle for an immersive view.

● Excellent low-light performance: 1/2.3-inch BSI sensor

A BSI sensor delivers excellent images. Shooting with higher sensitivity, you see less noise in images shot indoors, at night, or in dimly lit conditions: you simply get better results.

● Image engine provides superb image quality

Crystal Engine Pro+ provides outstanding image processing. It has exceptional capabilities for handling super-resolution video. You can use this processing power to shoot superb quality 4K videos.

Available with full HD in standard resolution, exclusive Level Shot and Image Stabilizer functions allow you to capture easily watchable fast action sequences.

● Slow motion video

You can shoot at high frame rates in three resolutions: 1920 × 1080 pixels at 60 fps; 1280 × 720 pixels at 120 fps; and 848 × 480 pixels at 240 fps. You can then play back the video in slow motion, either for effect or to check out a golf swing or the form of another fast action.

4. Easy to use: simply shoot and share

Using the color LCD on the main unit, the operation is effortless. Also via a smartphone or tablet, you can also easily upload and share videos on the internet right on the spot.

● Color LCD panel

The main unit is equipped with a 1.5-inch color LCD. Instantly, you can check the field of view and mode settings.

● Connect with NFC compatible Wi-Fi®

If your smartphone has NFC capabilities, all you need to do to enable Wi-Fi® is to contact the control unit and the phone.

● Create Highlights and Easy-Share

With an Image App, highlighted scenes can be easily edited in one clip and uploaded to internet after shooting with automatic selection of highlighted scenes.

● Real-time Broadcasting

Via USTREAM, distant family members can get a live view of important family events.

To learn more about Panasonic’s line of LUMIX Digital Cameras and other consumer electronic products please visit www.shop.panasonic.com.

I was thrilled at Panasonic’s announcement of this style of camera after long time wondering about GoPro’s seeming lack of video quality in real world ambient conditions.

I own several types of Panasonic cameras going back over 20 years, but lately been very satisfied with testing Sony’s AS15 (upgraded to 60P) features. Smaller than both GoPro and Panasonic I used as a low profile headworn camera mounted on external fed custom stereo-surround mics. See test video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dmxPumPDe0&list=UUXZtQbvLONRZQQYA0j-wfxA

Bottom line is the HX-A100 is incomplete as a semiserious video camera for not having external stereo mic input. I do want one, but also want true HD stereo-surround audio to go with the camera’s excellent HD video.

Readers viewing Panasonics sample video should note some video clips taken with a GH4 as mentioned at the video’s text bottom

The main thing I'm interested in is the "jello effect" problems that the CMOS sensors have. During mountain biking I find the the "medium frequency" vibration causes significant jello waves in the background and the sky. The Gopro 2 and 3 are pretty sumilar in this regard. There are a few global shutter CMOS products starting to appear, and theoretically that will stop the issue, or maybe a higher resolution CCD sensor could be good, but these current non-global CMOS's are not very good. They seem to be getting better, and I presume that could be because they are increasing the scan rate...so it is possible that the Panasonic handles it better than the GoPro, but just not sure. You'd almost have to shoot them side by side on a mountain bike to know for sure. I looked at the promo and I didn't really see situations that created too much medium frequency vibration (skateboard was probably the closest)...Does anyone know how well this new camera handles the jello effect?Cheers,Tony

Remember to ALWAYS shoot at a higher frame rate when shooting motion ... 1080/60 ... on a 60 fps time line .... to reduce jello and skewing. Also try using an ND so you get a slower shutter speed ... with the higher frame rate ... so you get more smoothing motion blur.

Surprisingly, the Panasonic website does not offer any specifications.

Digging around, I learned that it has a sealed battery, USB charger input; built in mic, there does not seem to be an input for external mic.

What I would like to know is the optical specifications; focal length, zoom range, minimum focus distance, close up magnification, zoom and focus controls. The specs given above only say; Ultra wide angle up to 160dgs.

Looking at the video, I found the movements a little disturbing. ;sudden moves, tilted horizons, etc. One would have to learn to move ones head like a videographer. Same applies to using a Go Pro on a helmet mount. At least with a head mount you can take multiple views, hands free, and then edit the transitions out. But keeping horizon straight is a crapshoot because it might be hard to look at the monitor with a 160dg FoV.

The real potential with this camera is being able to squeeze it into tight places where even a Go Pro would not fit.

On the current version the cable is permanently attached and not user serviceable.

It does have WiFi capability and can be controlled remotely via a compatible smart phone. But the ability to use a longer cable would be useful. Maybe the next iteration will have an interchangeable cable.

In the (real) heavy industry world where I spend my days, I can see many uses for this camera, in maintenance, safety, education, reporting, documentation, etc. I seem rugged enough, but it has to be proven. Industrial uses kill normal equipment within a day.

Exactly what I was thinking mate. I'm a maintenance engineer and this would be so useful to checkout the internals of a case moving machine and getting the production flows right. Especially if the 120fps 720p is good in low light. I have tried using iPhone 5s and gopro hero 3+ in low light but the quality is still useles. When I say low light I mean iso 12,800 on my D700.

As an engineer you should know that the tiny sensor on these cameras can't compete with your Nikon. And you can't have a super fast lens on a camera like this when focus is fixed. At highspeed you need so much more light ... so ... light your subject. The new firmware for the 3+ offers some useful low light help

I can't wait until *real* camera makers offer a viable alternative to GoPro--with Sony's AS100v and Panasonic's HX-A500, it seems that day is imminent. GoPro's terrible reliability and customer service are simply unacceptable.

Oh, and before the certain GoPro rep here (you know who I am talking about) starts his usual sales speech, I'd refer him to Gopro's Facebook page and its endless posts by thousands of disenchanted buyers who got sold on Gopro's commercials' hype only to find their units inoperable and video quality subpar.

I, for one, don't need studio-processed videos of scantily clad wet teen girls and over-cranked pseudo-dubstep soundtrack to be sold on a camera. I have much more respect toward camera makers who spend their money on R&D, QA, and customer service.

This is probably by far the best iption for a simple installation of a video camera on amateur drones like the AR Parrot; you strapp the camera above the case and hoodwink the camera at an angle underneath the drone'a own camera; beats having to damage / modify the hull when playing with gopro or jvc or any other sports camera.

Meanwhile the chinese have made a nice knock-off. For $125 ... great for kids. Built-in Monitor, HDR, Motion Detection trigger. But labels are backwards ... Tungsten and Daylight reversed. Under Sharpness, Soft and (unuseable) Sharpest are reversed. Manual is useless! Still trying to figure out Car Mode. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ISUNBPU/ref=pe_385040_30332190_TE_3p_M3T1_ST1_dp_1

Luckily, the Japanese companies have high ethics standards that do not allow them to sell something on hype like Gopro does, or sell knock-offs like the Chinese. Instead, they took the longer route and invested their time and money into quality products.

Interesting how Panasonic felt compelled to put 120fps (at 720p) and even 240fps (at 480p) in this wearable while the fastest speed they bestowed upon their "high end" GH4 is 96fps (at 1080p). Is smooth slow motion an unwanted feature among pros and prosumers, targeting only at iPhone and wearable users?

Ah, but isn't 4k four times the resolution of 1080p, which the GH4 seamlessly handles at 30fps? How then, according to your "big sensor argument," can that same GH4 find itself incapable of processing 1080p at 4 times the 4k framerate? I would think that 1080p at 120fps should be possible on the GH4's new Venus engine. Please explain that.

Because it is sensor readout, which has little to nothing to do with resolution, it is likely that the sensor can only do readout up to 96fps before it melts in that small body. RED can do faster, but has a fan inside it. Sony can do it with the FS700, but only for small bursts. AX100 can do it but the sensor is smaller.

And for what it is worth, the GH4 does not do 30p at 4K, it 'only' does 24p at full 4K. It does 30p at quad full HD.

Fine and well. But what technologically (or thermally) prevents the GH4 hardware from doing 120fps in 720p?

It would simply appear that Lumix engineers have been too busy to implement better slow-mo capabilities in the firmware for the sake of meeting the April-end ship date. As such, one can only hope that a firmware update will follow from Panasonic, if not to give us better slow-mo frame rates, at least to give GH4 firmware hackers the potential to enable faster frame rates.

Distortion can be removed in post using things like Aftereffects. With the GoPro one can use their free Cineform software. One advantage of the GoPro though is being able to change the angle of view. There are also interchangeable lens aftermarket mod'ed GoPro's. If you watch TV, you're seeing GoPro shots ALL OF THE TIME. Nissan used 17 of them last weekend for an ad. We used 13 for a Corvette ad. 6 in one Toyota a couple of months ago. Did you see any comically large beaks?

If there was any way to protect the lens from bug splats and flying stones I'd use one of these as a motorbike helmet camera in preference to a GoPro.

A GoPro is about as aerodynamic as a brick and, by the time you've put it in it's housing and added the battery backpack so you've got a decent run time there's enough weight there to be annoying. I've used cameras of this type before, and having about 30g of camera head attached to my helmet and the rest of the electronics in my pocket is vastly preferable.

So Panasonic comes out with a camera that does just about everything a GoPro does except they add a fragile cable that attaches to a Sony Walkman like device to strap to your arm. Or that necessitates 2 points of contact on any board sport. Or is not quad copter friendly at all. But hey, your aunt can film her hat making and your dad can get close ups of his carburetor like its 1983 again. Wicked.

Yeah, but who needs 4K. GoPro shoots all of their videos at 1080/60 ... if there is any motion. If you're doing establishing shots you can shoot at 4K 15 fps. We use 2.7K at 24 fps (GoPro 3+) for dialog with little motion.

Gopro's 2013 model can't do 30p, no. But that's an easy next release feature. I never used 4k on mine. The LCD is helpful in many circumstances (no guessing at aim), but at a cost of battery life and having a far more awkward double mount. Since I used my gopro to depths of 150ft, this panasonic isn't going to do me any good.

Go Pro does a much better job with marketing. You just want to buy the camera because of the footage, excitement and emotion in the videos. This Panasonic camera is much better but they already started on the wrong foot by making these boring videos of people doing boring stuff around SF.

Why anyone would want a 4k video of an awkward lunch or watching glaciers whip past you as you crawl along on Segways is beyond me. Horrible launch Panasonic. Horrible.

People may have boring lives indeed. But marketing is based on what you "could" do with it. Most guys drinking beer are not surrounded by blonde Norse goddesses waiting to be asked to get laid after they drink a dozen beers. But commercials to that effect sell the lifestyle of beer. Same with GoPro. Am I likely to jump out of a capsule at 120,000 ft? No. But GoPro is a much sleeker product at capturing a selfie video of me and my 4 year old daughter going a water tube slide than this concept from Panasonic is.

Agree with MGBLK. GO Pro Hero 3 also had terrible firmware and battery issues. It was a horrible product but im sure it sold more than any other (action) camera on the market. Panasonic seems to be good value (lots of features) and it includes a LCD. Would be nice if you could change out the camera module depending what you are doing.

@Mssimo ... a good craftsman doesn't blame his tools. Yes, they aren't necessarily easy to use ... but we use them A LOT in TV production. If we're using them professionally, then they have to be reliable.

"Horrible product with terrible firmware and battery issues" is not the same as "not easy to use." It is what Mssimo said it is--an unreliable product. The fact that professionals use it only attests to the unfortunate lack of alternatives to date. In fact, those pro's who do use gopros, keep a dozen of them on hand to be able to simply toss the ones that go from brick form factor to plain brick.

I agree with Mssimo, lens change-outs could be useful. It looks like adding lens attachments to the Panasonic camera could be relatively easy. I could imagine close-up or even a microscope attachment as well as telephoto and 180 degree fisheye.

... and partly because it's vastly superior to other (action) cameras WRT body-mountable form factor.

Not a single other, non-cheap, non-Chinese (SJ1000, SJ4000 etc.) product has such a "flat" form factor easily allowing for, if you fall, safe(!!!) chest / forehead mountability. I've played a LOT with these camera and found GoPro's mounts and form factor the best if you don't have a helmet to attach the camera to.

Yes. It would be nice to have a wide angle without such a huge fisheye look. Yes you can address it in post but it is out of control in the video posted above. Maybe they will have the same options like GoPro for field of view.

I can imagine the engineering/marketing discussion: Yeah, that's it! We'll separate the lens from the camera body like that old Minolta thingy did.... Yeah, cool, but we better not use wireless to talk to it because Sony's been doing something like that now. What's the thickest cable we can buy to tether it? ;-)

"There are dedicated dash cameras for cars. A Korean company, using the name Lukas, makes some of the better ones, using Sony BSI sensors."

Yup, a GoPro is definitely an overkill for being just a car camera. There are far-far cheaper (up to $100), Chinese choices with similar resolution and wide FoV. See the excellent reviews at http://www.techmoan.com/